News & Commentary

Meet the activists and NRDC staff propelling change, read our expert analysis, and learn about the latest challenges and solutions to advancing a healthier, more sustainable, and equitable world.

Latest News

Stay on top of the latest research, policy updates, publication releases, and environmental news. 

Explainer

Get a breakdown of complex climate, public health, nature, and equity topics to inform your activism.

Dispatch

Read about activists tackling climate justice and other environmental causes in their communities and beyond.

Perspectives

Discover intersectional viewpoints from activists and artists on the environmental issues of the moment.

NRDC in Action

Find out how NRDC protects people and the planet by learning about some of our key fights.

Expert Blogs

Hear from our policy advocates, scientists, and litigators about the challenges and solutions for building a healthier and more just world.

What It Took to Create the Atlantic’s First Marine National Monument

NRDC in ActionConnecticut, Massachusetts, United StatesMelissa Denchak
After years of work by NRDC and its partners, about 5,000 square miles of ocean—with massive canyons, majestic underwater mountains, and more than 1,000 species—have received permanent protection.

The Long Road to Safer School Buses

NRDC in ActionWashington, California, New Jersey, TexasAmanda MacMillan
A landmark NRDC study showed that standard-issue diesel-spewing school buses could put kids at risk of cancer—and drove a national effort to clean the vehicles up.

Greening the Playing Fields

NRDC in ActionPhiladelphia, Seattle, San Francisco, Portland (Oregon), BostonAmanda MacMillan
How the sports industry became one of the planet's most powerful allies.

Why Are Our Waters Turning Green?

NRDC in ActionLouisiana, Toledo, Ohio, Des Moines, IowaNicole Greenfield
Toxic algal blooms are suffocating waterways from the Gulf of Mexico to Lake Erie.

Save the Sage Grouse, Save the West

NRDC in ActionMontana, WyomingVirginia Sole-Smith
Why our success in saving the greater sage grouse is key to preserving millions of acres of habitat and hundreds of other species across the American West.

A Dirty Battle in Chicago's Backyards

NRDC in ActionChicago, Illinois, IndianaNicole Greenfield
Residents of the Windy City are fighting the tar sands industry from spreading its toxic petcoke around town.

Spreading Their Wings

DispatchChicagoSusan Cosier
Butterflies bred in a Chicago lab are fluttering their way back to Illinois swamps.

Not-So-Secret Gardens

DispatchChicagoSusan Cosier
Uncovering Chicago’s gardens—and planting their locations on a map—could help sow the farming movement.

Flexing Their Mussel

DispatchOhio, MidwestSusan Cosier
The bivalves that ate the Great Lakes are fueling toxic algal blooms, too. Can’t we get rid of them already?

The Call of the Bugle

DispatchKentucky, WisconsinSusan Cosier
This spring elk from Kentucky will be migrating (by truck) to Wisconsin.

The Dusty City

DispatchChicagoSusan Cosier
Chicago is trying to limit how much petcoke the tar sands industry moves (and spreads) around town.

Bison Back East

DispatchIllinois, MississippiSusan Cosier
Wild buffalo now roam east of the Mississippi for the first time since the 1830s, playing a crucial role in restoring Illinois grasslands.